Villaintine’s Day 2016

V16cas

We had the Villaintine’s 2016 release party at The Merrow in Hillcrest. When I asked the sound guy, Arlo, if we could play the cassette between bands he looked at me like I was crazy, but I presented him with a tape deck and he made it happen. The show featured comp contributors Joe St. Thomas, Post Attraction, Giant Surprise and Mariel. And I think Opie still holds the record on the punching bag game they have at The Merrow.

This years compilation, which was the sixth Villaintine’s, is the first cassette to come out on Villains. Which hopefully will be the first of many. It’s my favorite Villaintine’s yet. We’ve got some new friends that bring so much to the comp, and the old friends just get better every year. Get your copy now on:

Bandcamp

or

The Villains Shop

Villaintines 2015 Tour photos: The Other Door (2/12/2015)

Here are some photos I snapped on the third night of the Villaintines 2015 tour at The Other Door in North Hollywood.  It was my first time at the venue, and I was really impressed considering it’s unassuming exterior.  The sound guy turned out to be the owner of The Other Room.  He was a nice guy who seemed to really care about making sure the bands sounded as good as possible.  I missed Ricky Small’s set, but I thought Tiny Stills, Mariel, and Sullen Ray sounded great.  -Mark

Overexposed Villaintines Poster.Enthusiastic new fan holding up the Villaintines poster.  (Click ‘Read More’ below for more photos.  Click on the thumbnails to see full res versions)

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Artist Spotlight: Chancius

Bando by Chancius

Chancius is a New York-based artist who recently came out with the sci-fi concept album Bando. The album follows an indie rock/dreampop exploration of transhumanism (the use of technology to transform humanity) by telling the story of Bando, a man who is about to die but gets a second chance.

By email, Chancius and I talked about what inspired the album, his experience as a subway busker, and his frustration with the New York music scene and mainstream record labels. Listen to his new album Bando and read his responses below.

Are you an indie label or artist? Wanna chat? Shoot me an email at june@villainsrecords.com.

 

What inspired you to write a sci-fi concept album?

Well, I’ve always been into sci-fi more than any other genre. I was a shy and sickly little boy with a big imagination, so that’s what I gravitated towards for escapism. My parents were never too controlling and supported whatever I was into. I believe that anything is possible. Every time someone says it can never be accomplished or there is a long standing record or that’s not how it’s done, someone else comes along and proves them wrong. We each have within ourselves the ability to do anything if we set our minds to it.

The concept part was a marketing idea.  So many people say that listeners only want one or two songs off an album (usually the hits) and I figured I give listeners more of a reason to want to listen to the entire album. This and I wanted to actually see if I could do it.

I believe that anything is possible. We each have within ourselves the ability to do anything if we set our minds to it.

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